Cam box gaskets

[njoconnor]

A week without snow here in Madison, and thoughts turn to the Blue 72.....

Last summer I (finally) changed out the gaskets for the cam covers (clean plug wells....what a luxury!). I intended to also do a complete shim check, but....well...things got busy. I have a partial order at one of the vendors, and was wondering: If I pull the cam covers again this spring, is it best to use new gaskets on the reinstall, or can I use the year-old ones? The covers were tightened to the "hand tight and a quarter turn" specification, so no excess pressure. TIA.

Neil

PS: Pat and I are registered and reserved for the 2017 Freakout in Milwaukee. We arrive Thurs AM and (probably) head right to Holy Hill with the entourage. Looking forward to placing faces and names (and cars!) together!

[klweimer]

I would start by reusing the ones you have. Easy enough to replace later if they seep. I would make sure to keep the orientation unchanged from as installed originally. (front/back, right/left, up/down)
Kirk

[njoconnor]

Thanks, Kirk! Think I'll still add a set to the pending order. That way there's no delay if the seepage starts again.

Neil

[RRoller123]

I would start by reusing the ones you have. Easy enough to replace later if they seep. I would make sure to keep the orientation unchanged from as installed originally. (front/back, right/left, up/down)
Kirk

+1 on that, because they take a set, and you can see the outline of the cover impressed in the used gasket. I have reused them with no leaks, but make sure they are clean, as any piece of grit might cause a small leak.